Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American BirdsFrom the award-winning birder and author of Birds of Prey, an authoritative, information-packed guide to distinguishing North American birds. In this book, bursting with more information than any field guide could hold, the well-known author and birder Pete Dunne introduces readers to the “Cape May School of Birding.” It's an approach to identification that gives equal or more weight to a bird's structure and shape and the observer's overall impression (often called GISS, for General Impression of Size and Shape) than to specific field marks. After determining the most likely possibilities by considering such factors as habitat and season, the birder uses characteristics such as size, shape, color, behavior, flight pattern, and vocalizations to identify a bird. The book provides an arsenal of additional hints and helpful clues to guide a birder when, even after a review of a field guide, the identification still hangs in the balance. This supplement to field guides shares the knowledge and skills that expert birders bring to identification challenges. Birding should be an enjoyable pursuit for beginners and experts alike, and Pete Dunne combines a unique playfulness with the work of identification. Readers will delight in his nicknames for birds, from the Grinning Loon and Clearly the Bathtub Duck to Bronx Petrel and Chicken Garnished with a Slice of Mango and a Dollop of Raspberry Sherbet. |
From inside the book
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... spring , grazes on and roots for salt - tolerant plants in thawed estuaries . Usually found in pairs or small groups , but in fall , flocks may be large ... Spring migration from early March to mid-May; fall from September to early.
... MIGRATION: Spring migration from late August to mid-December; fall from mid-February to mid-June. VI: 3. DESCRIPTION: In most respects, a cute miniature or “toy” Snow Goose. In measured weight and overall bulk, about half the size of ...
... migration, does not commonly associate with other waterfowl except for a few rare interior migrants that may ... spring, some birds return via a coastal route to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, then fly over land. Occasionally birds turn up on ...
... migration, homogeneous flocks are the rule. FLIGHT: Longer, more obviously front-heavy than Green-winged Teal ... Spring migration is very early and protracted, from late January into late May; fall migration is early, from early August ...
... MIGRATION: A late-fall and early-spring migrant. Spring migration from late February to early June; fall from late September to early January. VI: 2. DESCRIPTION: This husky, clannish, salt-water-loving diving duck is a street brawler ...
Contents
LOONS | |
ALBATROSSES | |
STORMPETRELS | |
PELICANS | |
HERONS EGRETS AND IBIS | |
STORKS VULTURES AND FLAMINGOS | |
RAILS COOTS LIMPKIN AND CRANES | |
SHOREBIRDSPLOVERS AND SANDPIPERS | |
SKUAS AND JAEGERS | |
TERNS AND SKIMMER | |
ALCIDSAUKS MURRES AND PUFFINS | |
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Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for ... Pete Dunne No preview available - 2013 |